The Lake
by Kamiari-Taichou
Summary: The Lake was a place where she could run off to...to think, to just let go of everything inside. The Lake was the place she had her first kiss, and now then years later, her first kiss is telling her the Lake's her mother. What a load of bull...


H ello, FF

_H ello, …_

_I am Kamiari-Taichou, and this is my first one shot ever. It's also a greetings to the site, its readers, authors and … well I guess that's it._

_xD_

_Hope you enjoy my first oneshot!_

XX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX – _**The Lake **_ – XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was early spring. Dawn. The birds' chirp could be heard echoing across the vast forests and beyond the horizon where every color was mixed in perfect hues around a gleaming orange half circle. The river's trickle could be heard as water rushed from the spring hidden somewhere in the high mountains, all the way down to the clearing, where it formed a really beautiful, midnight blue sparkling lake.

On the banks of the lake, a girl with long blonde hair sat, sitting on her side, legs sprawled out beneath her and tucked to the side; a simple white loose dress dancing across her, the wind blowing her hair in all directions, unsettling the calm water just a little. First, her right hand middle finger dipped into the water, then lightly touching the surface, gently ripped her hand through the water. Her index and ring finger were stationed a millimeter in front of her middle finger, and it looked as if she was about to give her hand to her partner for a Latin dance.

Her blue eyes bore into the depths of the lake with pure sadness and longing, but with a tinge of peace and understanding. It was as if she was forced to leave her home behind, but her heart knew that this was for the best, yet her mind could not forget.

So much had happened in Konoha. So much of it… she wanted to feel, do, touch, see it again; so many people…and her life. It was where she was born, where she grew up, where she became a ninja…where she fell in love…

She took a deep breath, and exhaled, weighing the exhale with deep remorse.

The wind picked up again. The trees started whispering among themselves, the leaves carrying their thoughts from one tree to the next. The lake moved in a different direction, and the blonde's hair blew all over her face.

A foot step…

She twisted around, using her left hand, the one that she used to support herself on the grass, trying to move her hair out of the way, so she could see, her blue eyes, that were once calm and serene with sorrow, were now fully alert and wide open.

And another footstep….

She jumped up onto her feet, and looked around, her hair not going in one direction anymore, but was flying around relentlessly. Her dress was being draped across her legs, and tightened around her chest as her eyes narrowed back into their original ninja form. Anger flushed out of her blue eyes, the mystic sky color turning to into a stormy one.

Out in the distance, she could see a man, definitely not a boy…or even her age…but not old; maybe a few years older…five years at least…seven at most.

His black hair was tied in a pony tail at the lower part of his head, and his bangs, reaching from his nose to his chin out of any form, danced across his face. Deep set red eyes holding three pupils glared deep into her, a smirk residing on his emotionless face. The only thing she could see that he was wearing was the black cloak with the red clouds…

Akatsuki…more accurately… Uchiha Itachi…

What did he want with her? Her mind became a rush hour, her thoughts intercepting other…while the more intelligent ones were honking horns for the girl to pay attention. And even though her mind was in utter chaos, she remained alert yet collected. Her heart skipped a beat as she slightly gasped when his hand stuck out of the Akatsuki cape, unbuttoning it from the middle, then going up, and then finishing the last few buttons at the bottom. His eyes wavered for a moment, and the cape blew off of him, flying helplessly in the furious wind.

He stepped closer to her, and she instinctively took a fighting stance. Pausing in step, a little taken aback by her sudden movement, he looked at her a little confused, and then continued on, cautiously yet disarmingly. One of the horn honkers, the smart intelligent thoughts, she listened to. It yelled out for her to calm down…he obviously didn't come for a fight…and if he did, that was one hell of a surprise attack…and he most certainly did …EVERYTHING…he could to keep out of her five senses…definitely. The sarcasm was killing her, but she decided to listen anyway. She dropped her hands, and stood tall, waiting for him to approach.

And he finally did. He was about three feet away, when he disappeared. Her eyes widened with surprise as she slowly spun around to face him. The kunai was out, and about to kill her. She had no time. She was too late…too slow for someone like him. But then he smirked again, and with a smile, put the kunai back.

"You need to brush up on your skills, girl…You used to be so fast before…seems like your skills have rusted up a bit ever since you left…" He looked at her with a bemused passion.

Again her glare changed; from peaceful, to alert, to scared shitless, to defensive.

"What do you know about my life…Itachi…" she bore her eyes right through him.

"Now, now, Ino-chan…it's not like I've been stalking you…" he smiled.

This was unusual… the way he spoke, the things he did. Itachi was known for never showing any kind of emotion. This couldn't have been him.

"You're not Itachi…" she stated simply, "I don't have anything to say to you even if it was you…."

His eyes hardened for a moment, then went back to being emotionless… "You know what a reputation is?" he asked.

She nodded. "Well then," he continued, "to get yourself into the bingo book, you need a good reputation…and mine is emotionless and evil. When I'm not trying to commit a mass murder, destroy villages and cities, and am not around other people, and even sometimes my friends….I'm the emotionless, evil bastard. But when I'm alone with someone, I tend to be me…the real me I left behind so many years ago, too…"

Ino gave a smile as she closed her eyes, "You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't expect anything…"

She re-opened her eyes, and stared at him in observant doubt.

"Fine," she said after moments of deliberation, "Why are you here Itachi-san?"

He gazed at her, then cocked his head to the side, "If I told you I fell in love…what would you do?"

Her facial expressions changed again. All of a sudden, she was laughing; a bright laugh, a loud one at that, as if she'd just heard the most ridiculous thing in her life. Well, technically, she had…

"Wait a moment…" another minute of insane laughter, "Are you saying you fell in love with me?"

"What's so funny about that?" he looked offended.

"Nothing…" she then gave a cocky smile.

The wind picked up again, and her amused smile got even bigger as her hair did aerobics around her.

"I just wanted to let you know…" he said after a moment.

"How'd you know I'd be here…?" she held the smile, but her voice was more a soft inquiry than a joke.

"It's the lake when you and I had our first kiss…" he looked at her for a moment, as if he was trying to remember a painful time, and then reluctantly turned away to look at the lake.

"Now you've got to be kidding…" she looked at him bewildered, but amused.

"Nope, you were six I think… I was eleven…" He gave an answered weighed heavily with long lost loved memories.

"And why would an eleven year old have ANY interest in a six year old?"

He laughed at that, too, "Well, I had nothing better to do, and you were so adorable…."

Her eyes narrowed in moronic disappointment… "A ha ha ha…"

Itachi laughed…and then looked back at her, "I was just wondering if we could do it again…"

"You mean repeat the kiss?" Ino now stared at him, eyes wide in pleasant surprise.

"Yah…" came her soft reply.

"Well," she looked down at the river bed, watching small waves crash come up and down the shoreline, "Ok…" she agreed, "but only one kiss…"

Itachi looked at her, then spread a wide grin of his own, and leaned in, his hands catching her face.

Ino let into the kiss. It was beautiful…amazing and stunning in fact…breath taking. Maybe the Itachi she was introduced to all those years, really wasn't that bad after all.

"Do I have any chance of being with you?" he broke the kiss and gazed deeply into her blue eyes.

"Well, we are both outcasts, each for our own reason…"

"I'll take that as a yes?"

"Haha," Ino gave another laugh, "Sure…" then she glared at the lake…who suddenly calmed down all too soon…

She narrowed her eyes again, "Ugh, this lake's out to get me, I swear…"

"This lake is your mother Ino…" Itachi smiled at her.

"My whata…?" she looked at him in incomprehension.

"Your mother, Ino…she loves you a lot…she set this whole thing up…"

"And you're so sure about that because weird ghost angels came from the High Heavens to tell you my mom's a lake plotting to set me up with an arch enemy…"

He just laughed and kissed her, "You're smarter when you're quiet…"

"Ugh," she smiled into the kiss, "I'm so offended…"

--XX--

_There I hope you liked it!_

_Itachi Ino is one of my three fav crack pairs, though Gaara Ino rules the world xD. _

_Hope you enjoyed._

_Please read and review…reviews mean a lot XD, especially to a newbie like myself._


End file.
